DESCRIPTION: The study proposes to use patch-clamp techniques to study the modulation of K+ conductance in Type I vestibular hair cells. The investigato hypothesize that alterations in extracellular K+ and phosphorylation of an intracellular enzyme could lead to alterations in K+ conductance in response t a depolarizing stimulus. The second aim of the study is to record ionic currents in utricular cells in situ, and contrast these recordings with those obtained from isolated hair cells.